Arsenio Hall returns to late-night TV, minus shoulder pads

“There’s a lot of competition,” Arsenio Hall said about his new late-night show, which will tape in L.A. “I’m trying to change my name to Jimmy.”

With Kimmel, Fallon and the rest cluttering the late-night TV landscape, it’s not going to be easy to carve a niche. But Hall believes there’s room.

“You don’t have to go after Chelsea’s fans or Leno’s fans to be in the game.”

In Denver, “Arsenio” will air on Fox31 at 11:35 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning Sept. 9, and at midnight on Sunday.

The producers maintain there are hundreds of thousands of Americans not watching late-night who are available to tap.

Among the moments on his previous show that Hall is proudest of: the Bill Clinton appearance, which changed the way politicians regard talk/variety show hosts; the Magic Johnson AIDS announcement.

Music doesn’t get the ratings talk does, so he intends to talk to musicians as well as letting them play. One thing he’ll need to avoid is the cliche: “music is the soundtrack of your life,” he says. And, “I want to send you to bed with a smile on your face.”

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.